Category Archives: Noble Ideals

This month’s online exhibition features the work of Alina and Jeff Bliumis, who explore how the “noble idea” of Communist Russia ultimately failed and effected their lives. Below is a statement about the pieces in their own words: “Geometric Geography: Examples 5 and 6” appears, from a distance, as a Star of David. On closer examination, … More »

Dear officials from the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life, Koret Foundation, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, Nathan Cummings Foundation, and other major donors in the Jewish community; Thank you for your deep and sustained commitment to your vision of Jewish life. Your support has helped thousands of Jews thrive, learn, and improve the planet. … More »

Elisheva Goldberg: Many who take the term “Zionism” for their battle cry tend to speak of the redemptive powers of nationalism; they insist that God is in their political camp. But this insertion of otherworldliness is inappropriate and dangerous. … More »

The millennial impulse — the belief, hope, or fear that a fundamental global change is imminent — seems universal in human experience. It may be messianic (that is, focused around an individual savior) or impersonal. It may be religious or secular. But as scholars have shown, millennialism (the term refers not to the year 2000, … More »

ALINA AND JEFF Bliumis Geometric Geography: Examples 5 and 6” appears, from a distance, as a Star of David. On closer examination, one can see it is constructed from more than 1,500 Soviet Union-issued gold star pins. Each pin displays the child portrait of the founder of the Russian Communist Party, Vladimir Lenin. Both of … More »

Lawrence Bush: Our religious tradition helped me be as cautious about the dangers of embracing socialism as I am about the dangers of living with the anarchic, idolatrous individualism of capitalism — cautious, but not paralyzed, because as both Karl Marx and the sages of the Talmud said (Kiddushin 40b), what counts is not just contemplating the world, but changing it. … More »

I fell in love in a castle. It’s a great story for my grandchildren, how their Zayde and I fell in love 46 years ago at the castle at Brandeis University. And it’s a true story. It was a bright and cold February day when Cupid’s arrow hit; I remember every nuance of how I … More »

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” Leonard Cohen nails it! We can let go of striving for an illusion of perfection and embrace our brokenness. It is not a distraction from the path; it is the spiritual path of our everyday lives. But how do … More »

When I teach undergraduates about the rise of Jewish denominations in the nineteenth century, I am regularly caught up short by many of my students’ responses. The borders of denominations meant everything to their leaders, who situated their movements as the true Judaism, and the other movements as not at all true. But those borders mean … More »

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When the shmita year, a once in seven-year opportunity to transform our world, began this past Rosh Hashanah, rabbis, educators, and communities across the Jewish world were ... MORE »